


The 3 Times Adrien Let His Chat Noir Persona Slip (And the 1 Time Marinette Figured It Out)

by best_of_pjo



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, Love, MLB, Marichat, Oneshot, adrienette - Freeform, ladrien, love square, miraculous - Freeform, we’re not that dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:35:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29528586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/best_of_pjo/pseuds/best_of_pjo
Summary: There are times when Adrien and Chat Noir get muddled together in Marinette’s brain, and she’s starting to think it isn’t a coincidence.ORThe one where Adrien isn’t acting like himself, and he’s driving Marinette insane with conspiracy theories.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, ladynoir
Comments: 10
Kudos: 308





	The 3 Times Adrien Let His Chat Noir Persona Slip (And the 1 Time Marinette Figured It Out)

**Author's Note:**

> hey! i have a Miraculous fan account on insta where i post twitter threads based off of the characters hehe   
> it’s @multimiraculous if u wanna drop a follow :)

“How can you listen to her?” Marinette asked, shouldering Adrien lightly. He stared at the retrieving figure of their classmate, Lila, after listening to her speak pure lies for ten minutes. 

“I pretend to be interested in what she has to say.” 

Marinette glanced at him. “You almost convinced  _ me _ .” He returned her gaze, his lip lifting in a slight smirk. 

“It’s my poker face,” he bragged. Putting his hand to his heart, he continued, “I’ve gotten pretty good at it.” 

And for a moment, she could only stare at him. She’d only heard that type of confident speech from one person; her irritating superhero partner. His stance--with the hand over his heart and his eyes closed smugly--was almost enough for her to slip out a  _ shut up, kitty,  _ before she could stop herself. 

Marinette blinked before slowly smiling. “You should show me, sometime.” 

“I’d be glad to!” 

Her heart seemed to float back to its original placement. His familiar tone was back, his regular non-threatening stance present once again. He was Adrien Agreste, not  _ Chat Noir.  _ What had she been thinking? 

;;;

Marinette would not stand for this injustice. 

“I’ll convince your father to let you go,” she announced, not caring that everyone was staring at her. Adrien caught her gaze, confused. “You’re going to Alya’s birthday if it’s the last thing you do.” 

He stood up. “My father’s a difficult man…” 

“I don’t care,” she said, beginning to walk away from the group. Nino and Alya remained seated on the park grass, but Adrien followed his crazed friend. He only caught up to her once she rounded the corner, and he grasped her hand to stop her. 

“Marinette!” he chuckled, his cheeks slightly flushed red from rushing to talk to her. “Why is this such a big deal?” 

She frowned. “You’re my friend, so I’m going to make sure you have fun during your teen years. It’s about time your father lets you loose a bit.” 

He didn’t let go of her hand. For a second, he only stared in admiration. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and he leaned into her. “Are you sure that’s the only reason?”

Marinette blushed. Adrien was the touchy-type, sure, but never like  _ this.  _ Never with a challenging look on his face and that oddly familiar sparkle in his eye. 

If he’d been wearing a black mask and cat ears, she would have mistaken him for Chat Noir. 

“Yes,” she replied. She didn’t stutter, only because she imagined she was speaking to her partner. “Not all of us have  _ secrets. _ ” 

And then he blinked and stepped back, shattering the moment of realization like fragile glass. “What do you mean?” he asked innocently. Marinette almost wanted to laugh, but she settled for a sheepish grin. 

“Nothing,” she said.There’d been a lot of akumas lately, which was probably why she was accidentally meddling Chat Noir with her civilian friends. “It was a stupid idea. Come on, let’s go convince your dad.” 

;;;

The third time it happened, she knew it wasn’t a coincidence. 

“Badabim…” 

“Badaboom!” Chat Noir finished, letting go of Ladybug’s hand and setting her on the ground. 

She didn’t know when they had picked up on the little tradition of completing the phrase for each other after a quick save, but it helped Chat Noir calm down after near-death experiences, so she always participated in it. She hated to see him stressed. 

It was an odd phrase, she’ll admit, but he loved it. 

“That was a close one,” she said, the smile on her face masking the intense fear she’d felt less than thirty seconds ago. 

“Always is,” he replied. His ring flashed. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow during patrol!” She nodded in agreement before they headed their separate ways. 

Thirty minutes later, Marinette showed up to the park to celebrate Sabrina’s birthday with the rest of her class. Adrien was there, and upon seeing Marinette, he walked over to her to say hi. 

“You’re late,” he noticed. “What happened?” 

_ I was busy saving Paris.  _

“Math homework,” she lied. “Why? What’s—“ As she reached for the table to rest her arm, she began to fall. She’d missed the table completely, but she couldn’t even process her mistake before a pair of strong arms were wrapped around her. 

Adrien beamed. “Badabim-“ He froze, and she did the same. His face flushed. 

“What did you just say?” she asked. He fingers tapped against her waist nervously. 

“Nothing. It’s just something my friend and I say whenever...you know what, it’s a long story. Just ignore me.” 

And she did, for the rest of the night. Marinette’s stomach twisted with confusion and worry and anxiety and finally,  _ finally,  _ she gave up on denial. 

;;;

Patrol night was quiet until Ladybug said, “hey, Chat?” 

“Yes, M’Lady?” 

“You’re Adrien Agreste, right?” 

He immediately stirred, scrambling to stand up and face her. Her tone was calm and collected, for she had already spiraled and freaked out the night before. 

“How did you know?” 

She only smiled. He’d done a good job masking his identity, honestly. It was almost as if Adrien and Chat Noir were two completely different people. But there was something that trumped his acting skills, so she smugly said, “I’d know you anywhere, kitty.” 

  
  
  


* * *


End file.
